cunningham



J. R. CUNNINGHAM.

RAIL.

41,?307,852. l i 'Patentedlune 24;,` 1919.

w W w liu] Uh lll Il] W W m d 'v M um L. 1w lll I' l| j' i /llrll |A i lllhilThl" j j ".IAivIEsmIt. CUNNINGHAM, ornncnfrnn, ILLINOIS.

RAIL.

Leonesa. j

i Specicationof Letters ZPatent.

Patented June 24, 1919.

Application flied December 2e, uur.` seriai No. 208,780.

To all whom t may` concern.' i

Be it known that I, JAMES CUNNING- HAM, acitizen of the United States, a resident ofDecatur, in the county` of Macon and State of illinois, have invented `new and useful Improvements in Rails, of which the following is a specification. j i

My invention relates to improvements in rails, and particularly rails to be used for railroads, streetrailways, interurbans and the like. .l i. i

The principal object of thisinvention is the provision 'of a rail having a continuous tread and having adequate provision: made for expansion and contraction, due*` to changes of temperature, so that the rail will be strong in construction, e'liicient in service andyprovide a continuoustread or bearing `surface to obviate the jolting and other inconvenience arising from the use of the present standard rail construction. 5

yAnother object of this invention is the provision of a rail formed in two parts which complement each other to form the complete rail, the parts overlapping so that at the j oint in one part the tread of the other part will be without a joint, and will make the bearing surface continuous, the bases of therail being separated a suitable distance so as to permit the expansion and contraction, due to climatic conditions, and the fish plates being attached by means of bolts passing through elongated holes or apertures, for the same purpose.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and then sought to be deinedin the appended claim, reference heilig had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, and which shows merely for the vpurpose of illustrative disclosure, a preferred embodiment of my in vention, it being understood that various changes may be made in practice within the scope of the claim without digressing from my inventive idea.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 represents a plan view of a rail constructed according' to my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3 3 of Fig. i; i

` Fig. 4L is a vertical section taken through the rail ,\shplate and tie-plate;

Fig. 5 is a side elevationof a detail.

\ Fig. 6 isa detail side elevation illustrating the use of the ordinary fish-plate;

r Referring now to the d1awings,-the numeral l designates the ties which are located suitable or standard distances apart and on which may be placed the usual tieplates or chairs '2, if desired. The rails rest on these tie-plates and are held in place bythe spikes, as is well understood. v

Therails themselves comprise the comple-` mentary parts, `which include the head ball 3, web 4t and base 5. The head ball -is pro` vided with the tread or bearing surface (l and is of substantially the shape andisize of the standard rail at present in use. Of course the size of the rail varies according to `working conditions, just as at present. One' side of the head ball 3 is cut away or reduced at 7 so as to lit the corresponding portion of the complementary rail member, as shown. The base is also cut away at S so as to leave a space 9 therebetween, topermit the necessary expansion and contraction, due to the various changes in climatic conditions and temperature. The two parts are laid in overlapping relation as clearly shown in Fig.

l; that is, at the joint of one part, the tread or bearing surface of the other part is continuous and vice versa, so that the rail always provides a continuous bearing surface for the rolling stock.

At the joint, I utilize the fish-plates 10 which may be of any standard construction, and which are preferably long enough to cover the joint in both parts of the rail, though it is obvious that I may utilize one or a pair of fish-plates at each joint, accord ing to desire and operating conditions. These lish-plates are held in place against the web of the rail by means of the usual nut and bolt construction l1, which passes through apertures or holes therein and also through the elongated holes or apertures 12 formed in the web of the rail. This, of course, is for the purpose of permitting any expansion and contraction.

Fig. l taken in connection with Figs. 3 and 5 shows very clearly my invention. It is there observed that the ball of each section of rail has one perpendicular straight face which is off-set very slightly from the faces of the ball and flange, respectively.

It is to be understood that the sides of the 'tread or head of the rail members are made to lit tightly against each other so that they will be positioned snugly and smoothly together, and make a smooth bearing surface and also that the overlapping of the joint of the mate rails, makes this 'bearing surface continuous. An additional purpose in utilizing the Vtwo railmembers for forming the complete rail is to providev a rail of maximum strength which will give extended service. Not only that, butin case one part of the rail breaks, the other part will'be held in place and will prevent accident, due to derailment or other'causes. Of course, in addition tothe securing means at the joint, the rail members are bolted together as often as deemed necessary and advisable to hold them together. All of these bolt holes are formed so as to permitthe movement of the rail `in expanding and contracting.

It is also to be lnoticed that the outer edges of the'tie-chairs or plates 2 are turned upward asV at 13 so that the edges of the Copies of t-hszpatent may be ohtained'forve cents each, Yby addressing vthe Commissioner of Patents. l

rail members fit therein. This will hold the lvrail members together and prevent them from spreading apart.

It isseen, referring particularly to Fig. (i, that the fish-plates may be of usual construction, one being provided for each joint instead of the longer ones shown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings.

What I claim is In a rail, a Apair of sections each having head, web and base portions, the head portions having vertical abutting inner faces which project beyond the web portions, and the vbase portions having inner sides with free and permanent space between said inner sides, the inner side faces of the base portions being disposed outwardly beyond the meeting line of the inner faces of the head portions, the webs having free and permanent space therebetween and throughout their inner faces, a chair'on whiehthe base portions seat, said chair extending across said free and permanent space between the inner sidesofthe base portions, bolts to secure the sectionsftogether, and means to hold the base portions in rigid position on the chair.

In witness whereof I have hereunto aflixcd my hand this 4th day of December, 1917.

JAMES R. CUNNINGHAM.

Washington, D. C. 

